taint

[teynt]

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noun

a trace of something bad, offensive, or harmful.

a trace of infection, contamination, or the like.

a trace of dishonor or discredit.

Obsolete. color; tint.

verb (used with object)

to modify by or as if by a trace of something offensive or deleterious.

to infect, contaminate, corrupt, or spoil.

to sully or tarnish (a person's name, reputation, etc.).

Obsolete. to color or tint.

verb (used without object)

to become tainted; spoil.

Origin of taint

1325–75; conflation of Middle English taynt, aphetic variant of attaint struck, attainted, past participle of attainten to attaint; late Middle English taynt hue, tint < Anglo-French teint (< Latin tinctus, equivalent to ting(ere) to dye, tinge + -tus suffix of v. action); and teinte < Late Latin tincta inked stroke, noun use of feminine of past participle of tingere

Related formsun·taint·ed, adjectiveun·taint·ing, adjective

Synonyms for taint

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR taint ON THESAURUS.COM

1. defect, spot, flaw, fault. 1, 7. blemish, stain. 6. defile, pollute, poison.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for untainted

unsullied, pristine, angelic, angelical, chaste, clean, clear, exemplary, faultless, good, guiltless, honest, immaculate, impeccable, inculpable, irreproachable, lawful, legal, legitimate, licit

Examples from the Web for untainted

Contemporary Examples of untainted

Big critic Neil Barofsky was ‘untainted by financial knowledge.’
Speed Read: The Juiciest Bits From Timothy Geithner’s New Memoir
William O’Connor
May 13, 2014
He and his band are untainted by political skullduggery and economic interest, not to mention accusations of theft.
Voting For Yair Lapid, Israel’s Maimonides
Rabbi Daniel Landes
February 4, 2013
Short on experience but untainted by Washington, this one is in touch with the people.
She Is Running!
Mark McKinnon
July 14, 2010
Unfortunately, Republicans will do their best to run candidates in swing districts who are untainted by the Bush years.
Heckuvajob, Napolitano
Reihan Salam
December 29, 2009

Historical Examples of untainted

He saw in her the same beauty of untainted innocence he had known in his youth.
The Octopus
Frank Norris
If I ask for blood it is for untainted, not what you call high blood.
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, Complete
George Meredith
He is untainted by the ungenial formality of our German professors.
The Catholic World. Volume II; Numbers 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
E. Rameur
Your blood is that of the Castriots, and untainted by Moslem touch.
The Captain of the Janizaries
James M. Ludlow
His piety is as untainted as his purity; it is the maiden-service of a maiden-saint.
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol II of 2)
John Addington Symonds

British Dictionary definitions for untainted

untainted

adjective

not tarnished, contaminated, or pollutedhe was untainted by the scandal

taint

verb

to affect or be affected by pollution or contaminationoil has tainted the water

to tarnish (someone's reputation, etc)

noun

a defect or flawa taint on someone's reputation

a trace of contamination or infection

Derived Formstaintless, adjective

Word Origin for taint

C14: (influenced by attaint infected, from attain) from Old French teindre to dye, from Latin tingere to dye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for untainted

adj.

1580s, in the moral sense; c.1600 in the physical sense; from un- (1) "not" + past participle of taint (v.).

taint

1570s, "to corrupt, contaminate," also "to touch, tinge, imbue slightly" (1590s), from Middle English teynten "to convict, prove guilty" (late 14c.), partly from Old French ataint, past participle of ataindre "to touch upon, seize" (see attainder). Also from Anglo-French teinter "to color, dye" (early 15c.), from Old French teint (12c.), past participle of teindre "to dye, color," from Latin tingere (see tincture). Related: Tainted; tainting.